Enhancements, upgrades, seminars from Sawtooth
Version 1.1 of the Ci3 System for Computer Interviewing is now available from Sawtooth Software. The Ci3 System is used to administer questionnaires in a wide variety of research settings: central locations, such as malls or trade shows; door-to-door research; telephone research; and even disk-by-mail interviewing. Ci3 Version 1.1 starts at $500. Larger systems, ranging in price up to $5,000, are also available.
Sawtooth has also released Version 1.2 of its CBC System for choice-based conjoint. Choice-based modeling is used to assess how the features of a product (including price) affect the demand for that product.
Sawtooth has three seminars scheduled for late March for researchers interested in perceptual mapping and conjoint analysis but who have had little or no practical exposure to the techniques. Dates and topics are: March 27 perceptual mapping; March 28 - conjoint analysis; March 29 - introduction to ACA system.
The company stresses that the seminars are not training classes for Sawtooth products. The focus is on the theory and practice of the techniques. Topics covered include: study design, sampling, analysis and presentation of results. Case studies are also presented. A third session, "Introduction to the ACA System," is for those who want to learn more about Sawtooth's ACA System for Adaptive Conjoint Analysis.
The seminars will be held in Evanston, Ill., near the company's main office.
Program simplifies word searches
CommTech PowerSearch version 3.0 is now available. The software gives Microsoft Word for Windows users advanced search capabilities, allowing them to organize vast amounts of unstructured information from databases, e-mail, CDROM disks and other sources. When doing a word search, for example, the program uses a thesaurus to suggest all relevant synonyms. PowerSearch also allows users to specify how close the search terms must be to one another (for example, within five characters, words, sentences, lines, paragraphs or pages). Until May 31, PowerSearch is available at a special price of $99.95 for a one-user license. The regular price is $499.95.
Claritas combines data retrieval, desktop mapping
Claritas Inc., has launched Catalyst GIS+, the first Windows-based software to combine data retrieval and desktop mapping. The software incorporates Claritas' CD-ROM/on-line data retrieval and integration product, Catalyst Connect, with Catalyst Mapping, a practical desktop mapping system developed jointly with Maplnfo specifically for use in Claritas' line of Catalyst products. Users can access, integrate, display and analyze Claritas data as well as their own corporate data geographically - from national statistics to street-level detail. Database offerings include: annually updated demographics, PRIZM lifestyle segmentation, business databases, consumer product demand, financial data, health care patient demand and more.
Predictive dialing add-on for Telescript
Digisoft Computers Inc., New York City, has released predictive dialing software as an add-on module to its Telescript call center software. Predictive dialing can now be used with Telescript to boost productivity in marketing research applications.
New CD-ROM products from Equifax
Equifax National Decision Systems, San Diego, has launched a new CDROM product line, called On-CD, designed to provide census demographics and business data for geographies as large as the U.S. and as small as a census tract. Two compact discs called Pop-Facts On-CD and Business-Facts On-CD are the first of five stand-alone CDs that will include demographic, business, financial, restaurant and retail data. Pop-Facts On-CD will provide 1990 census data, current-year updates and five-year projections of demographic variables such as population, housing, age, occupation and eight other major categories. Business-Facts On-CD will provide business counts for primary or secondary SIC codes, sales volume ranges, employment size ranges. as well as daytime population counts.
Scholastic polls U.S. students
The Scholastic Online Poll of American Youth, a large monthly on-line marketing survey, has been launched by the Education Marketing Group of Scholastic. Grey 18 & Under, a unit of New York's Grey Advertising that specializes in marketing to children, is a charter sponsor of the poll. The poll will query up to 2,000 students (grades K-12) in schools nationwide. The results will be tabbed in two weeks. The polling is conducted via the Scholastic Network, an on-line network for teachers and students which connects an estimated 250,000 students.
StatPac upgrade
StatPac Inc., Minneapolis, has upgraded its survey analysis packageStatPac Gold IV. Version 4.5 offers a number of major and minor changes requested by users, ranging from improvements to the ability to capture and report open-ended responses to a new breakdown program for printing banner tables of means. Many commands in StatPac's programming language have been enhanced to offer more flexibility in designing and labeling reports. The new open-ended response coding feature lets researchers create unlimited nets and subnets for summarizing verbatim comments. A new merge command makes it easier to work with multiple sets of data. Version 4.5 was shipped as a free update to users who purchased StatPac after October 15, 1994.
New source for data on privately-owned companies
Hard-to- find executive data, estimated sales, news and recent developments on more than 12,000 privately-owned companies and corporate subsidiaries are now available online and by fax and mail, from Avenue Technologies. The San Francisco company has teamed with Fortune magazine to launch Private Company Profile reports. Each report averages 3 to 10 pages and is priced from $9.95 to $34.95, based on content. Using proprietary software, Avenue Technologies scans major newswires, financial databases and more than 5,000 newspapers, journals and trade publications to create each profile. Information includes ownership data, competitive analysis, performance results, recent M&A developments and current news.
PC program for educators
Market Data Retrieval, Shelton, Conn., and Envisions Knowledge Products have teamed to form a knowledge base for the decision making process of educational marketers. Designed to address publishing, marketing, sales and research issues, Access: Education puts statistical and text data in a Windows-based PC format. It covers public school funding, enrollments, demographics, technology, curriculum, teachers and state adoptions with detail about these and other topics.
New studies focus on mutual funds, pensions
PSI and Phoenix-Hecht now offer syndicated research on mutual funds and retirement/pension products. The Mutual Fund Research Program will survey consumers regarding their ownership and use of mutual funds, track market share by major competitors and products, measure customer satisfaction with these products and providers and detennine consumer preferences for delivery alternatives related to mutual funds. Program members are expected to include the top discount and full-service brokerage companies as well as major bank mutual fund providers.
The Retirement/pension Research Program will track corporations' use and preferences for retirement and pension services, provider market share for these products and corporate preferences for product and delivery alternatives. The project also intends to track consumer satisfaction with products provided by employers. Tampa-based PSI is a division of NFO Research. Phoenix-Hecht is based in Research Triangle Park, N.C.